New 2003 Taurus Owner. A few ???

Hello everyone I am new to this forum but not forums in general. Yesterday I bought a Taurus and have a few minor concerns. The car is a Vulcan 2003 with 65K miles.

First, the dash is intermittently squeaky. Sometimes when I hit bumps it makes no noise or it squeaks in unison with the bumps. There's been times when it will squeak with every little road imperfection and once it squeaked in sync with the engine while at a stop light. Question is, what is causing the squeak? Should I just try to ignore it? It's just really annoying for a car I've had for a bit over 24 hours. Maybe just the mileage?

Second, I've noticed excessive tire noise from the right front wheel, only at speeds over 40 MPH. Is it just wheel balancing or something more specific to these models?

Third, is it normal for the engine to "groan" when put into park after driving for awhile?

Last, is it normal for the engine to run at 1500 rpm when started cold? Common sense tells me it's just to help warm it up, and it does end after a minute or so. Just curious...

Sorry for the long post and all the questions. Just trying to get specific information for what I've noticed.

Thanks in advance

James

Squeaking dash- Tighten all the screws securing the dash. Do you know if the dash has ever been loosened for repairs? Can you identify exactly where the noise is coming from. Temperature changes can cause parts to contract and expand.

Tire noise- rotate the tires and see if the noise goes away.

High RPMs- tap the gas pedal after a few seconds and see if the engine speed slows down. What you have described is the equivalent of an automatic choke.

I say tighten all of the screws.

Check for tire wear on the loud tire, if it is wore worse than the other ones, you might need an alignment.

My car will groan in park, if I'm thinking about the same thing, but not in neutral. I park in neutral with it running anyway.

And yes, 1500rpm is normal for a cold start.

Thanks for the replies :)

The dash noise is coming from the panel under the steering column I think. Also my console shifter handle is loose so that attributes to some of the noise. These are things I noticed on my way to work today.

Thought I would follow up on this post as it's been awhile since I got this car.

About the tire noise, turns out the noisy tire was overinflated to 44PSI from the dealer. I took it to a (who I thought was reputable) mechanic and he said just drive it, the tires have some cupping up front but plenty of tread. Either he didn't check the pressure or added some, I don't know. Anyway, I deflated down to 33PSI and it drives like a dream.

The dash and shifter make some noise over rough roads but I'm used to it.

The car is a pleasure to drive after my 94 Spirit that I drove for 5 years. I love it.

Oh yeah, somebody hit me while on vacation, I'm kinda bummed about it but I'll get it fixed soon enough.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f296/james2k6/dent1.jpg

Thanks for your help everyone, this is a great forum :)